Payday lender Wonga hires Tara Kneafsey to manage consumer loans September 9, 2014 Embattled payday lender Wonga yesterday announced the appointment of Latvian insurance expert Tara Kneafsey as its UK consumer loans managing director in a bid to clean up its image. Wonga has been bringing in new management, including new chairman Andy Haste, who joined in July following anger over its sending of threatening letters to customers [...]
British factory output rises but still below pre-crash peak September 9, 2014 Britain’s manufacturers increased their output strongly in the 12 months to July, official data revealed yesterday, driven by a boom in plastics and transport equipment. Factory output climbed 2.2 per cent on the year, continuing a run of solid growth seen every month since last September. But the industries are still well below their pre-crash [...]
Lufthansa pilots’ strike today will hit Munich flights September 9, 2014 LUFTHANSA passengers face further disruption as a strike by pilots will seriously affect flights to and from Munich airport today, the third strike to hit the German airline in a fortnight. Lufthansa pilots who are members of the Vereinigung Cockpit union will strike for eight hours, between the hours of 10am and 6pm Munich time [...]
San Miguel sells back $1bn Philippines Airlines stake September 9, 2014 PHILIPPINES conglomerate San Miguel, best known for its beers, is to sell back its 49 per cent stake in Philippines Airlines to billionaire owner Lucia Tan. San Miguel bought its stake for $500m (£311m) in 2012, but will now sell it back for $1bn to PAL Holdings owned by Tan, the second richest man in [...]
Petra Diamonds share price soars as it discovers a 232-carat white diamond September 9, 2014 Petra Diamonds saw its shares reach for the stars yesterday, after it revealed it had found an “exceptional” 232-carat white diamond at its Cullinan mine. Shares in the FTSE 250-listed South Africa-focused mining company soared 8.65 per cent yesterday on the positive discovery, finishing the day on 192.10p. Analysts at Numis said they expected the [...]
Japan mulls power plants at sea September 9, 2014 Floating power plants are being considered by the Japanese government after it expressed interest in proposals from Norwegian firm Sevan Marine, maker of cylindrical vessels for the offshore oil and gas industry. Yesterday, Sevan chief executive Carl Lieungh told City A.M. “A delegation from the company met government officials and industry partners earlier this year [...]
City Moves for 10 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 9, 2014 Northland Capital Partners The stockbroker has appointed Patrick Claridge as chief executive. He has over 30 years’ experience in the securities industry, and most recently worked at Merchant Securities. Claridge has also held senior roles at E*TRADE and TIR Securities. Chubb Insurance Jalil Rehman has been appointed chief executive of the insurance company in Europe. [...]
Best of the Brokers for 10 September 2014 September 9, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WM MORRISON Citi has upgraded to “buy” from “neutral”, but cut the target price to 190p from 220p. The broker thinks negative sentiment is already priced in, and that cash flow generation is likely to remain strong and support dividends, with the prospect [...]
London Report: Lower crude prices pull FTSE down but Morrison’s gets lift September 9, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares yesterday inched lower on Tuesday as energy stocks weakened and investors bet on whether Scotland would vote to leave the United Kingdom in the 18 September referendum. But stocks showed little reaction to comments by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who suggested the bank might start to raise interest rates next [...]
New York Report: Apple fails to boost Wall St September 9, 2014 US STOCKS fell yesterday as Apple shares declined and amid concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than expected. The Dow Jones fell 97.55 points or 0.57 per cent, to 17,013.87, the S&P 500 lost 13.1 points or 0.65 per cent, to 1,988.44. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 40 points or 0.87 per [...]